1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of ride control systems; and more specifically, to ride control systems that can provide active ride control with energy recovery.
2. Background
Current methods for semi-active ride control apply a damping force to a shock absorber by creating back pressure by restricting the flow of fluid from the shock absorber. The damping energy is converted to heat by the flowing of the shock absorber fluid through an orifice.
In active control methods, similar methods are used to dissipate the damping energy, but force can also be applied to move the vehicle in a desired direction as opposed to just opposing the motion of the vehicle. These methods provide damping but do not recover the energy used to damp the vehicle motion.
In passive, semi-active and in most active ride control, the damping energy is converted to heat which needs to be transferred to the environment. These methods do not recover any of the damping energy. In active control, the energy to operate the system is a parasitic loss to the engine.